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Turkey's Erdogan Praises Move To Scrap Genocide Law

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  • Turkey's Erdogan Praises Move To Scrap Genocide Law

    TURKEY'S ERDOGAN PRAISES MOVE TO SCRAP GENOCIDE LAW

    EuroNews
    Jan 31 2012

    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has welcomed a move to
    overturn a French law that makes it illegal to deny the mass killings
    of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide.

    A group of senators have asked France's constitutional court to quash
    the legislation, which sparked anger in Turkey.

    "I hope the constitutional council will do what is necessary," said
    Erdogan, while Turkish President Abdullah Gul added that he was "not
    expecting the French from the very beginning to let their country be
    overshadowed" by the law.

    France already officially recognises the killings as a genocide. The
    new law would go further by punishing anyone who denies this with up
    to a year in jail and a fine of 45,000 euros ($57,000).

    Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their ancestors died in 1915 and
    1916 at the hands of Turkey's former Ottoman Empire.

    Turkey disputes the figure, arguing that 500,000 died, and denies
    this was genocide.

    It says the deaths were due to fighting and starvation during World
    War I.

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